Living overseas & lost driving licence; must return to ROI for new licence?

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Setanta12

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Apparently, this is the case as per email received from them.

I can have a Driver's Statement to assist with obtaining a new licence in the other country, but thats it. Otherwise I must return to Ireland in these Covid / travel-unfriendly times.

Anyone any other ideas?
 
Get licence in yr country of residence, if EU (and some others) you can trade it if you move back.
 
"To apply for a driving licence, you must be normally resident in Ireland. You are considered to be normally resident in Ireland if, because of personal and occupational ties, you usually live here for at least 185 days in each calendar year."

They don't want People using Irish Licence's overseas.
 
How long have you been living overseas? An Irish Driving Licence (and most others) are only valid for six months outside of their using countries.
 
Purple said:
Except if you lose your Irish one that could be a problem...
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Unless you convert it within the required time period, usually 24 months, it does not really matter as it can't be converted. And you can be prosecuted for driving without a license.
 
Drakon said:
How long have you been living overseas? An Irish Driving Licence (and most others) are only valid for six months outside of their using countries.
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This is incorrect within the EU.

The OP lives in Germany. An EU issued licence can be used in Germany and doesn't have to be exchanged for a German one. The problem becomes a licence has an expiry date, and you can't get a new Irish licence if you're not resident here, so at that point it needs to be exchanged.

In this case the OP will need to apply for a German licence, using the drivers statement provided by NDLS.

The same rules apply in Ireland regarding EU issued licences. The are valid here until they expire, and can be exchanged for an Irish licence up to 10 years from their expiry date.
 
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RedOnion said:
This is incorrect within the EU.
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I believe it is two years, but individual countries can extend it.

RedOnion said:
The OP lives in Germany. An EU issued licence can be used in Germany and doesn't have to be exchanged for a German one. The problem becomes a licence has an expiry date, and you can't get a new Irish licence if you're not resident here, so at that point it needs to be exchanged.
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This is in Germany, you need to check with the other countries. If you cross the Swiss/German border for instance it is not recognised beyond the agreed two year period.
 
Jim2007 said:
And at least couple to times a month I reason in the local papers about a German resident thinking there license was valid...
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I don't understand your post, I'm assuming an autocorrect went wrong? Are you saying that an EU issued drivers license, issued by a country other than Germany, and the holder is now a German resident is not valid in Switzerland?
That's interesting if it's the case, but an EU licence is completely valid within the EU until it's expiry date unless it was obtained on the basis of driving experience outside the EU.

If there is a 2 year rule as you've pointed out, you might link to a source?

Back on topic, the OP can only get an EU licence in the country they're currently resident.
 
RedOnion said:
This is incorrect within the EU.

The OP lives in Germany. An EU issued licence can be used in Germany and doesn't have to be exchanged for a German one. The problem becomes a licence has an expiry date, and you can't get a new Irish licence if you're not resident here, so at that point it needs to be exchanged.

In this case the OP will need to apply for a German licence, using the drivers statement provided by NDLS.

The same rules apply in Ireland regarding EU issued licences. The are valid here until they expire, and can be exchanged for an Irish licence up to 10 years from their expiry date.
Click to expand...

Maybe it’s changed.
A friend of mine moved to The Netherlands in the mid-1990ies. He had an Irish driving licence, issued in 1993, expiry 2003.
It was one of these pink ones:


There was a common misconception at the time that these were EC (ie EU) licences.
After two years of driving in the Netherlands he happened to be stopped at a Dutch police checkpoint. When he innocently produced his Irish Driving Licence they started asking him questions and for additional ID.
They informed him that as a Dutch resident he could only use his Irish licence for the first six months and was obliged to get a Dutch one. Furthermore, they told him he’d been driving illegally, with invalid insurance, for the previous 18 months.
They held off on charging him so long as he applied for a Dutch driving licence ASAP. He made a number of visits to the CopShop over the following days. Proof of application, then the new licence, then insurance, etc.

But that was over two decades ago, maybe the rules have changed.
 
Oh, and sorry to be pedantic about this, but it’s a pet hate of mine so I’ll just say it:

(In Ireland) it’s a Driving Licence.

Not a “drivers licence”.
 
Drakon said:
Oh, and sorry to be pedantic about this, but it’s a pet hate of mine so I’ll just say it:

(In Ireland) it’s a Driving Licence.

Not a “drivers licence”.
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I love that you're pedantic about this.

You completely make something up about a licence only being valid for 6 months, but correct me on something like this!

So long as you're adding value, and not adding misinformation...
 
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